Episode 379 This is Jang Yo-ran from Ilyang County.
Jang Deuk-su was in a gloomy mood today, so he often looked out the window at the rain. It wasn’t a strong rain, but it continued to rain without stopping. It was a day with few customers and few people walking on the streets. After preparing a meal for Hongshin and Yoran, the street I looked at was even quieter.
A carriage, difficult to see, was approaching from a short distance, followed by several horses.
The direction was, of course, Jaha Gaekjan.
“….”
Jang Deuk-su looked at the stopped carriage, deciding to send Yoran and Hongshin to an open branch for the time being.
Men wearing clothes I had never seen before were standing completely around the carriage, and they seemed to have no intention of avoiding the rain. Somehow, as soon as I saw them, I couldn’t help but sigh.
After a while, Jang Deuk-su, who was staring out the window, heard someone’s voice behind him.
“…Can we eat?”
Jang Deuk-su turned around and checked on the guest. As soon as they saw it, they knew that everyone waiting below was this man’s subordinate.
Deuksu Jang answered.
“Yes, please sit somewhere comfortable.”
The man who was looking around this floor sat alone in the window seat and looked at Jang Deuk-su.
“Are you Jaha Gaekjan’s servant?”
“That’s right.”
Jang Deuk-su put his hands together politely and then looked at the man. Somehow, I knew that this would be my first and last time talking to this man. It was my first time feeling scared just by looking at it. After trying hard to calm my mind, I asked.
“What should we prepare?”
The man nodded slightly and then answered.
“I want you to prepare something that Lord Hao Wen and the Sword Demon often eat. Is it possible?”
Jang Deuk-su bit his lip slightly and then answered.
“Yes, then I will prepare. “It may take some time.”
“Slow down.”
Jang Deuk-su went into the kitchen, then moved to the room inside, opened the door, and looked at Hong-shin, who was resting.
“Shin, an important guest has arrived. Please do not come outside. “Don’t even sing today.”
“Are you a distinguished guest?”
Jang Deuk-su put his finger to his mouth. Hongshin nodded with his eyes wide.
Deuksu Jang asked.
“What about Yoran?”
“It’s on the first floor.”
“I’m resting.”
After closing the door, Deuksu Jang went to the kitchen to check the ingredients. Hao Wen-ju’s favorite food was pork bone, and luckily there were enough ingredients left. However, I thought it would not be enough to just serve pork bones, so I prepared several dishes at the same time. Because Jaha Gaekjan was already surrounded, there was nothing he could do except make the food delicious.
While preparing food faster than ever, I stayed alert to avoid making mistakes. No matter how he thought about it, he felt that the guest sitting alone was Zaha’s enemy. There is no specific basis. Somehow, I knew it as soon as I saw it.
Even though I was clearly told not to come out, I heard the door, and Hongshin, wearing an apron, came over and spoke to Jang Deuksu.
“…Let’s do it together.”
Jang Deuk-su was busy and did not have the energy to respond. As soon as Hongshin saw various foods being prepared, he jumped in, prepared the dishes in advance, and started cutting the vegetables that had not yet been cut.
Hongshin asked.
“…Do you want to leave first?”
“okay. “Give me some water first.”
“You didn’t even give me water?”
“I blinked.”
As Hongshin grabbed the water kettle, Jang Deuksu looked at Hongshin.
“Don’t make a mistake.”
“yes.”
Jang Deuk-su focused on cooking. After mixing the oil and vegetables in a round pot, adding seasoning, the fire was made even stronger. Afterwards, the whole pork bone was inserted and the seasoning was evenly coated.
Meanwhile, Hongshin, who brought the water, returned with a pale expression and helped prepare it without saying a word.
Jang Deuk-su and Hong Shin made eye contact and nodded once as if they understood the situation. In terms of martial arts, Hongshin was the best in Ilyanghyeon, but this time Hongshin was not much different from Jang Deuksu.
Hongshin, who was preparing food, asked with his mouth.
‘Who would it be?’
Jang Deuk-su shook his head.
‘I don’t know.’
After putting a generous amount of pork bones on a plate, Deuksu Jang left the kitchen and approached the customer. I forgot something, so I told Hongshin.
“Please give me some food too.”
“yes.”
Jang Deuk-su asked after putting down the pork bone.
“Do you want to drink too?”
The man nodded. Jang Deuk-su answered briefly, refraining from asking additional questions such as what kind of alcohol he would drink.
“yes.”
Hong-shin and Jang Deuk-su walked in and out of the kitchen, placing hastily but carefully prepared meals on the guest’s table.
The customer just looked at the food on the table and then poured himself a drink first.
Jang Deuk-su made eye contact with the guest once and then slightly lowered his head.
“…Then, please eat in peace.”
Jang Deuk-su went back into the kitchen with Hong-shin. After frantically preparing the meal, Jang Deuk-su looked at Hong-shin with a surprised expression.
“…Noise.”
“I’ll bring it.”
“no. “He could be sleeping on the first floor.”
Somehow, it seemed the most important thing to not bother the guests when they were eating. Jang Deuk-su lightly hugged Hong-shin, who was much stronger in martial arts than himself, and then patted him on the back. A sighing murmur naturally flowed out.
“What the hell is this…”
The experts had heard that they had sharp ears, so they stopped mid-sentence.
* * *
After drinking a glass of wine, the leader looked at the pork bone.
It looked uncomfortable to eat with chopsticks, and the seasoning was too much for me to eat with my hands. In the end, I put the pork bone aside and started eating other food with chopsticks. I was planning on putting down my chopsticks after just tasting it. After eating raw fish as a snack, I rinsed my mouth with another drink.
There was a creaking sound on the stairs for a moment, and a child suddenly popped his head out and looked at him.
“….”
Yoran made eye contact with the leader and covered his mouth with his finger. It was a signal to be quiet. Next, Yoran approached the leader, making as little noise as possible, like a cat moving.
Yoran arrived at the table and introduced himself to the leader in a whispering tone.
“…I am Jang Yo-ran from Ilyang County.”
The leader nodded once and then chewed his food.
Jang Yo-ran asked again in a whisper.
“How does it taste?”
The religious leader answered.
“It’s not bad.”
When the leader opened his mouth, a loud noise came from the kitchen, and Jang Deuk-su appeared with a shocked expression on his face.
“Yoran.”
At this time, Yoran turned his head and looked at Jang Deuksu. Jang Deuk-su looked at Yoran and the leader alternately with a surprised expression.
The religious leader said to Jang Deuk-su.
“It’s okay.”
“Oh yeah.”
Jang Deuk-su spoke as if he was giving advice to Yo-ran.
“If you… bother the guests.”
Yoran nodded.
“all right. “Please come in.”
When Jang Deuk-su, who was exchanging glances with Yoran, entered with a strange expression, the leader said to Yoran.
“They don’t look alike.”
“yes.”
Yoran watched the leader eat and pointed to the pork bone.
“Why don’t you eat this? You have to eat this with your hands. Hold both sides here with your hands and eat. “If you don’t think you can eat it all, please give me one too.”
“Eat.”
“thank you.”
Yoran took a small bowl from another table and then moved a whole pork bone with chopsticks. I sat across from the leader, and since he was short, he barely put his face above the table and started tearing at the pork bone.
The religious leader asked.
“What about alcohol?”
“I haven’t tried it yet.”
The leader drank while watching Yoran tearing off a pork bone. Yoran said while tearing off a pork bone.
“I ate earlier, but I’m going in again.”
Yoran devoured the pork bone with barely any seasoning on his hands, then sucked each piece of his finger. Yoran, who was pulling out the flesh stuck between his teeth, asked the religious leader.
“You are Third Master’s enemy, right?”
“Because who is the third master?”
“Hao Wen Juyo.”
The leader nodded and asked again.
“It looks like you have multiple masters, right?”
“yes.”
“Who are the others?”
Yoran answered.
“The first is Master Sword Demon, the second is Master Yukhe, and the fourth is Master Mengrang.”
“Mong Lang is a disciple of the Sword Demon, and he serves as both a teacher and a disciple as a master?”
“yes.”
“why.”
“I don’t know either. “That’s how it happened.”
“I have four masters, so why did they see me as Hao Wen-ju’s enemy?”
Yoran said, pointing to the pork bone.
“If you eat that, I’ll explain.”
“Why this?”
Yoran answered while looking straight at the leader.
“Because it’s delicious.”
The leader took one chopstick and stabbed it into the center of the pork bone. The wooden chopsticks were gently inserted into the center of the hard bone. Then the leader tore off the meat from the pork bone.
Yoran asked.
“Can I have one more?”
“Eat.”
Yoran moved the pork bone again with chopsticks, then held one chopstick with both hands and stabbed it into the whole pork bone, just like the teacher did. The whole bone was so hard that of course chopsticks couldn’t go in.
Yoran asked while continuing to poke the chopsticks into the whole bone.
“How does it taste?”
The religious leader answered.
“Eat with your hands.”
“All right.”
Yoran immediately put down his chopsticks and then grabbed the pork bone with his hand. The leader said while chewing the meat of a pork bone.
“Why the third? “I have to answer.”
Yoran said while chewing a pork bone.
“It has a similar atmosphere to the Ambassador’s Department. It doesn’t feel quite the same. Just be a little similar. “I excluded it.”
“and.”
“I think you are much stronger than the second master. “I excluded it.”
“The fourth is.”
“The fourth master said in passing that he would not cause any major accidents until his martial arts skills were perfected. “You probably haven’t had a major accident yet.”
“What is a big accident?”
“I do not know. Wouldn’t it be like a big fight? “Losing is the thing I hate the most in the world.”
“Is the Third Master related to that?”
“yes.”
“What is it?”
“From what I’ve heard, it seems like Third Master always causes accidents. I heard that you fought the most while moving around. Sometimes I sleep all day without being able to wake up. Even if you sleep a lot, you don’t seem to be in a very good mood. The last time I saw him, I overheard him going to Dongho to fight again. Just by looking at you, I thought you had a lot of enemies here and there.”
The leader asked after drinking.
“Are there any other reasons?”
“Third Master, if it were his personality, he wouldn’t have let his subordinates get caught in the rain outside.”
Only then did the leader smile.
“I understand a little bit. “It was a good guess.”
“thank you.”
The religious leader said while looking around the inside of the guesthouse.
“This is Jaha Gaekjan. “I came here once because I heard about it.”
Yoran answered.
“How did it taste? “Pork bone is the masters’ favorite dish.”
“Sword Demon Sword?”
“sure.”
The leader looked at Yoran blankly.
“You have four masters, how strong do you plan to become?”
Yoran answered.
“I plan to become the best in the world.”
Perhaps because he thought this was an unexpected answer, the leader shook his head and said.
“Uneasy. “Is it possible?”
“yes. “When the masters get old, I have to protect them.”
“Your masters are not that weak.”
“I know.”
The cult leader nodded.
“Geomma and Yukhap are excellent at swordsmanship. Hao Wen Ju is good at handling yin and yang energy. Mongrang is learning the rare ice ball. Each person has different characteristics, so what should I learn from the four of them to become the best in the world? “If you learn miscellaneous things, you may not be able to complete any of them properly.”
“I plan to only learn the fourth master’s ice ball.”
“The reason is?”
“He said that if you just perfect the ice ball, you can become the best in the world. “He said it was a martial art better suited for me to learn than him.”
“Do you know Binggong’s name?”
“yes. “This is Okhwabinggong.”
The leader nodded and looked into Yoran’s eyes. Unlike the owner and his wife, I could see that it was colored wood.
“Okhwa Palace is where the most beautiful and outstanding women in our school stayed. It’s gone now. “I would like to give you a nickname to use when you become active in Kangho. Would you accept it?”
Yoran looked at the leader.
“If you like it.”
“It is a nickname called Okhwaseonja.”
This time Yoran laughed.
“I like it. “Can I use it?”
“If you like it, you should use it.”
When the leader got up, Jang Deuk-su, who heard the sound of a chair, came out with Hong Shin. Jang Deuk-su came closer, wrapped Yoran around him with a complicated expression, and then looked at the leader.
“You don’t have to do the math, Master.”
“Is she your daughter?”
“yes.”
The leader said while looking at Jang Deuk-su and Hong Shin.
“Grow well. “She is the woman who will become the best in the world in the next era.”
Jang Deuk-su barely answered.
“Thank you for your words.”
Yoran also bowed his head.
“Thank you for the star rating.”
The leader nodded his head slightly, then went down the stairs, silently passed his subordinates who were still out in the rain, and got into the carriage.
One believer took a quick look at Jaha’s guest cup and then asked the religious leader.
“…what should we do, leader?”
The leader’s voice came from the carriage.
“The life of Jade Flower Palace continues, so leave it alone. “I told them not to touch anyone.”
“I follow your orders.”
“let’s go.”
“I’m leaving.”
…Jang Deuk-su and Hong-shin, who were looking out the window, breathed a sigh of relief and turned around to be at eye level with Yo-ran. Hongshin asked Yoran with a still tense expression.
“Yoran, why are you like that? “Did you do that on purpose?”
“yes.”
“why?”
Yoran answered.
“I felt like the masters’ strong enemy, so I flattered them a bit.”
Hongshin hugged Yoran and Jang Deuksu hugged these two people again. Jang Deuk-su patted the two people and said.
“Good job. My daughter is the biggest flatterer in the world. Did I teach you about flattery? It’s not.”
In any case, Jang Deuk-su and Hong Shin knew well that Yoran saved the entire Ilyang County. Yoran asked as if confirming it once again.
“You’re a strong enemy, right?”
Jang Deuk-su nodded and spread three fingers.
“He has always been one of the three strongest people.”
“What now?”
Jang Deuk-su shook his head.
“I don’t know now.”
“I’ve never seen anyone more difficult than Daesabu.”
Jang Deuk-su made eye contact with Hong-shin and then nodded.
“It was my first time seeing it too. “You two go in and get some rest.”
After letting the two people in, Jang Deuk-su looked into his bitter heart as he was organizing the dishes. It occurred to him that Yoran would one day leave his parents’ arms and head to Gangho, but he thought that wasn’t such a strange thing.
In any case, Yoran was far from an ordinary daughter.
